haustorium
[haw-stawr-ee-uh m, -stohr-]
- a projection from the hypha of a fungus into the organic matter from which it absorbs nutrients.
- the penetrating feeding organ of certain parasites.
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Origin of haustorium
1870–75; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin haus- (variant stem of haurīre to draw, scoop up) + -tōrium -tory2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
haustorium
- the organ of a parasitic plant that penetrates the host tissues and absorbs food and water from them
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Word Origin
C19: from New Latin, from Late Latin haustor a water-drawer; see haustellum
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
haustorium
[hô-stôr′ē-əm]
- A specialized absorbing structure of a parasitic fungus or plant, such as the rootlike outgrowth of the dodder, that obtains food from a host plant. In parasitic fungi, haustoria are specialized hyphae that penetrate the cells of other organisms and absorb nutrients directly from them.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.